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Orillia is the nearest city to where i stay when I’m over in Canada, so its good to be able to finally give it a special mention on the site! If you’re looking for a city to base yourself for your holiday – that is both good to get to places of urban and rural varieties – this is probably your best stop.

Orillia always seems to have a cosy feel to it – almost everywhere you are when you are in Orillia has the feel of a small town – yet the amenities of a large one. The city has everything – a small mall called Orillia Square, the usual large supermarkets such as Wal Mart – but i think the more interesting things you’d be interested in – would be places like the Mariposa Market and the Marina and Couchiching Park.. On a sunny day – as you can see from the picture above – the place lights up like picture postcards, and a cool breeze off the lake will make you want to relax on the grassed areas – plenty of space to get a tan there!

Location wise.. it’s practically equidistant from Toronto as it is from Algonquin Provincial Park, bringing me back to what a perfect midway spot this city really is in. If you have some members of your family who want to have a few days in Toronto (119km away), you’re a speedy route down highway 11 and then down highway 400 and you’re in Toronto. However if you would rather have some time in the idyllic Provincial Park of Algonquin – (Provincial Parks being the equivalent to the UK’s National Parks and wildlife preserves) – you’re 126km away if you head north up highway 11 – and you’ll be able to enjoy seeing wild moose, bears and other native species out in the wild! – We’ll have a full article on this place in late august, as I’ll be heading there this upcoming trip!

So, now you know of its location, you’ll probably want to know of the hotels in the area! Now, there really are some prime location hotels in orillia, and you wont have to pay huge prices neither. For example – i have just searched Ebookers Hotels and found the 3 Star Kings Inn Orillia for £474.44 from 1st to 15th October this year – just in time for you to see the colour of the leaves turn – which i would recommend to anyone.. You want to know why Canada has a red maple leaf on their flag don’t you? – So have a look for yourselves at the link below to see what kind of prices you’ll be looking at to stay in Orillia – you’ll probably be pleasantly surprised!
Click here for more information on hotels and prices for rooms in Orillia

Of course, you don’t have to drive around everywhere all the time, there’s also plenty of places to visit and see around Orillia and Lake Simcoe its self – check out our Lake Simcoe Catagory for more information about what’s out and about in the area.

For the foodies of you – there are a number of special restaurants in the city — the ones i have experience of are the Chinese buffet restaurants. I’m a big fan of Chinese food, and it’s interesting to see how Chinese food is different in north America – to how it is in the UK. If you’re into Chinese food, visit the Golden Wok or the King’s Buffet. If you’re looking for a place to eat then relax by the marina, or in Couchiching park, have a look for the Kings Buffet – though my favourite is actually the Golden Wok. They seem to have a slightly better selection of food.. also another thing to point out .. In the UK – you go to a Chinese all you can eat – and you pay a fairly sizable amount, and you get the choice of maybe 5 different dishes, and a whole bunch of sides… At these Chinese Restaurants – banish the thought. This is Canada – and substandard choices and food is not on the menu! think more like 20-25 different dishes, as well as sides, desert and soup! They also come round offering free water with your meal, rather than pestering you to buy drinks. All for an affordable price of around $9 .. yes about £5! Have a look at the map below to find the Golden Wok restaurant:

View Larger Map

I mentioned earlier the Mariposa Market. This is a small old fashioned market building is a true historic marketplace – built in 1911 and serving the community of Orillia and tourists alike ever since! You can pick up some truly quality gifts and foods from this place, if i was to recommend anything for you to buy – the Fudge and the cinnamon buns are the things to look out for! For more information – check out the Market’s own website by clicking here

SO that’s my “little” article on the cosy city of Orillia – there is always more information i can provide – but I’ll save that for if you want to ask questions in the comments!

If you’re flying to Canada – to stop here you’ll want to be flying into Toronto Pearson International Airport in Toronto – you can find out more about flights to toronto by thomas cook here

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This entry was posted on Thursday, July 30th, 2009 at 10:13 am and is filed under Lake Simcoe, Ontario. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.